Thoughts of a Psychology Student

Discuss psychological explanations of institutional aggression (8+16marks) done without notes - information may be wrong or vague.... One type of institutional aggression occurs within groups in prisons. There are many theories as to why aggression in prisons occurs. One theory is the Importation Model. Irwin + Cressey 1962 state that prisoners bring their social histories and personality traits into prison with them, meaning that they are not blank slates when they enter the institution. Allender + Marcell state that pre-prison gang membership is a significant predeterminate of aggressive conduct whilst in prison. Research from Huff 2008 shows that if you are a gang member, you are 10x more likely to committ murder and 3x more likely to assault someone in public. Therefore if you are violent as part of a gang outside of prison, you will also be violent in prison, showing how insitutional aggression is caused by importation. However, the Deprivation Model suggests that it

Discuss 2 or more evolutionary explanations of food preference (8+16marks) Psychologists have carried out much research into the origins of modern day food preferences. The evolutionary explanation of food preferences argues that our likes and dislikes for particular foods have their origins in the way we have evolved. In order to study this, we have to understand the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptation (EEA). The EEA is the environment in which a species first evolved. For humans, it is thought to be in the African savannah 2 million years ago. Early diets would have consisted of foods high in fats and calories as they provided the most energy for humans to survive and find food for their next meal. Calories were not plentiful in the EEA and therefore were in high demand. This explains why even today, we have preference for fatty and calorific foods despite not needing the same amount of energy as we are no longer required to hunt for our food or burn as many calories.